Metlakatla boys honor fallen player with defeat of Haines

Posted: Friday, March 17, 2000

By CHARLES BINGHAMTHE JUNEAU EMPIRE

KETCHIKAN -- As the final seconds ticked off of the Metlakatla boys basketball team's 82-68 upset victory over Haines in the semifinals of the Region V-Class 3A tournament Thursday night, Metlakatla's Anthony Gogert ripped off his shirt and dove into the center of the gym floor.

Within seconds, the rest of the Chiefs jumped on top of Gogert, followed closely by dozens of fans from the Metlakatla rooting section as Gogert was crushed by a huge dog pile. The victory over the Glacier Bears gave Metlakatla its first berth in the Class 3A state tournament since 1996, but events earlier this season have a way of putting a different perspective on what was an emotional victory for the Chiefs.

The Chiefs wore a black No. 13 on their jerseys in honor of their fallen teammate, Donovan Marsden, who died about a month ago. Apollo Marsden, Donovan's brother, even went so far as to wear Donovan's old No. 13 jersey.

``Donovan was a special player,'' Metlakatla coach Cary Calvert said. ``He scored 36 points in the first game of the KayHi Tournament (the Clarke Cochrane Christmas Classic in December). These games, who cares. We already lost what matters. Donovan would have enjoyed this game.''

With the victory, the Chiefs advanced to tonight's 5:15 p.m. Class 3A championship game against the top-seeded Wrangell Wolves. Wrangell advanced to the championship game with a 78-50 victory over the Craig Panthers in Thursday's other semifinal.

The Chiefs fell behind 26-17 midway through the second quarter, but Metlakatla went on a 13-0 run to take a 30-26 halftime lead. Metlakatla only led 35-34 midway through the third quarter, but Chevy Hayward nailed a pair of 3-pointers to make it 41-34 and Haines never recovered.

``We knew we could do it,'' Hayward said. ``We've got a young team, and it's been hard at times. But we knew we had a good team, a tall team.''

Hayward and Apollo Marsden both scored 22 points to lead Metlakatla, while Amos Hudson added 17 and John Mackie had 10. Haines was led by Tyler Healy with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Kevin Thompson added 12 points and 6-foot-8 center Ben Egolf was held to 10 points, eight rebounds, seven blocked shots and four assists. Marsden said Metlakatla's defense on Egolf proved to be a key of the game, especially since he's been known to score 25 without even breaking a sweat.

``He's a big guy,'' Marsden said. ``You've got to let him stuff you a few times, but you've got to keep on shooting. It's been a long time since we've won regions, 12 years. It's the crowd (that kept Metlakatla's emotions flowing). You can't hear yourself think.''

The Chiefs have one of the most balanced Class 3A teams in the region, and when one option closes off the Metlakatla players aren't shy about looking for another way to score.

``We have a deep bench, and we trust them to keep our rhythm,'' Mackie said. ``And we've got a coach like Cary Calvert. He's the best coach I've ever played for.''

In Thursday's other semifinal, Wrangell used an inside-outside combo of point guard Cody Angerman and center Graham Gablehouse to dominate Craig. Angerman and Gablehouse both scored 29, with Angerman knocking down five 3-pointers, while Jason Clark added 12 points for the Wolves.

``Cody had 29? Boy, if he'd had a good game he'd have scored 40. He was a little bit long on some of his first shots,'' Wrangell coach Ray Stokes said. ``That was Graham's career high, and I was proud to see him have a good game like that.''